Promoting Your Lube:
Radio Remotes

By Tammy Williams
NOLN Staff Writer

Wouldn’t it be great if you could let your whole community know about a special event going on at your shop? Wouldn’t it be even better if a third party was enthusiastically relaying the message to thousands of people morning, noon and night? There’s a way this can happen — with radio remotes.

You are probably familiar with radio remotes, but just in case you’re not, here’s how one works. Your favorite DJ from the station you always listen to sets up at a local business. Every so often, the DJs in the studio will send the broadcast out to your favorite DJ at the local biz, who gives a report about what’s going on and maybe gives away some free stuff. Meanwhile, you’re driving in your car and want to be part of the action. So you head to the local business and check out the big event.

That’s how easily a radio remote can help promote your lube.

Mike Shell, owner of two facilities in Griffin, Georgia, had a radio remote last January to celebrate the grand opening of his Castrol Premium Lube Express.

“We had a good turnout that day, especially when they would give something away,” Shell said. “We had a lot of people come in.

“The DJ who does the drive home show came out and did the remote. They have a van and a mascot — a guy dressed up in a bear costume — who stood out in front. They set up a tent and set up speakers so people could hear. Every 10 or 15 minutes they got on the air and interviewed different people. My wife, daughter and some of my employees got on the air and talked about some of the different services we offer.”

If your business could benefit from a radio remote, how would you go about setting one up?

“Give your local radio station a call and talk to them about what you want to get from it,” said JoAnn Juliano, owner of KDBM-KBEV Radio in Dillon, Montana. “Is it your 20th anniversary of being in business? Do you have a special product you’re trying to push or something new in your store? We need to find out from the business why they want to do a radio remote.

“Once we find the theme, we promote it for at least a week on the radio. Then we broadcast live from the business and invite people to come on down and check it out. Normally, people who have remotes will have goodies of some kind, like a catered event, to serve as a draw.”

Radio remotes are great for promoting a business because they get people in the door. They also help get people in the habit of going to your business and help to build business overall, Juliano said.

There are certain times of day that work better than others for a radio remote.

“One of the better times of the day we’ve found, especially if the business is giving away food, is to have the remote run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Juliano said. “This time works really good because it is before lunch hour starts and during lunch hour. People will go down there for the food, but also look at the business too.”

Juliano, whose pair of radio stations operate in a town of about 5,000 people, shared a story that helps reinforce the power that radio remotes can have.

“We did a remote at a new business in town that sells fish and meat,” she said. “We did a remote there and publicized it for about a week ahead of time, and we must have brought in 150 people to their little shop in a two-hour period. That really helps.”

Juliano offered some tips to help operators make the most of their radio remotes. One piece of advice for operators is to agree to be interviewed on air — or delegate some of your employees to be interviewed on air, like Shell did. Juliano said this will help give the business — and the remote — more credibility.

“You have to plan what you want to promote,” she said. “You just can’t be sitting there twiddling your thumbs when people come in. The owner and employees need to be up and about talking to folks, and telling them about their services or their event. You can’t hope people will love you if you’re just sitting in the corner and not paying any attention to them.

“We’ve always had really good luck with remotes. People listen to the radio all the time. I think radio remotes are a real positive thing, especially with local community radio because everyone probably knows you and they want to come down to see you and what you have to offer.”